Three Steps Forward?

Today’s notice: What the White House summit taught us. The buyer’s remorse vote. A former Tune Inn bartender is running for Senate. What members all say after they violate the STOCK Act. Hochul’s dilemma.

THE LATEST

What to know about the Ukraine summit: Experts told our White House team a very Donald Trump-ian day of pomp and circumstance, dealmaking sessions and impromptu, news-making press statements with the leaders of some of America’s closest allies went surprisingly well.

Trump was all smiles. Volodymyr Zelenskyy was smiling, too, at times. What was looking quite recently like a process that would drive more of a wedge between the U.S. and Europe ended with leaders saying Trump’s summit felt like Russia’s war with Ukraine was closer to a resolution than ever. “I think this was one of these meetings where we kind of took, you know, three steps forward rather than any backwards,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb said after the meetings at the White House.

Those details though: “It is still too soon to discern if Putin is negotiating in faith — or just buying more time to continue the war. It is still too soon to discern if Putin, even if he keeps hold of some 20 percent of Ukraine, is ready to let the rest of the country go and integrate into the West,” Charles A. Kupchan of the Council on Foreign Relations told Jasmine and NOTUS’ Violet Jira.

Sticking points: “I can’t imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire. So let’s work on that,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told Trump at one point in front of reporters. (Italian PM Giorgia Meloni made a pained face.)

Hot mic moments: “I think he wants to make a deal,” Trump whispered to French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking of Vladimir Putin. “I think he wants to make a deal for me, you understand that? As crazy as it sounds.”

Open Tabs: Air Force Chief Resigns Halfway Through His Term (NOTUS); Newsmax agrees to pay $67M in defamation case (AP); Eric Adams sues NYC Campaign Finance Board (NY Daily News); Inside the DNC’s money problems (Politico)

From the campaign trail

The Ohio test: “In some ways, Sherrod can say, ‘This is what I was worried about when I was running last year.’ And even voters who didn’t vote for him then might say, ‘You know what, he was right,’” David Pepper, a former chair of the Ohio Democratic Party, told NOTUS’ Alex Roarty of the dream scenario for Sherrod Brown’s Senate bid.

The race is shaping up to be the truest test of how much buyer’s remorse there is in the electorate.

In Maine, a Marine vet, oyster farmer and one-time Tune Inn bartender (!) Graham Platner has thrown his hat into the ring for Democratic nominee for Senate. He supports “Medicare for All” and an arms embargo on Israel. He told Alex he was approached to run by local labor leaders.

“I just think if the Democratic Party continues to use the same playbook that they’ve been getting beaten on, they’re going to continue getting beat,” Platner said.

The field is still up in the air: Many in the Democratic establishment are hoping Gov. Janet Mills runs.

From the Hill

Epstein files: Rep. James Comer, chair of the Oversight Committee, says members will get a look at some of them starting this week. The timeline and which files will be released remain a mystery.

“There are many records in DOJ’s custody, and it will take the Department time to produce all the records and ensure the identification of victims and any child sexual abuse material are redacted,” Comer said in a statement Monday.

From the states

Full-steam ahead: “We are done waiting. We have a quorum. Now is the time for action. We’ll move quickly, and the schedule [will] be demanding until our work is complete,” Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows said of the state’s redistricting plans now that Democrats have returned to the state after a nearly three-week standoff.

Democrats were greeted at the state Capitol by a crowd of cheering supporters.

“Our return allows us to build the legal record necessary to defeat this racist map in court, take our message to communities across the state and country and inspire legislators across the country how to fight these undemocratic redistricting schemes in their own statehouses,” state Rep. Gene Wu, chair of the Texas House Democratic caucus, said in a statement to The Texas Tribune.

NEW ON NOTUS

Bad advice: That’s what members of Congress found violating the STOCK Act routinely blame their failures to disclose on, Dave Levinthal reports for NOTUS. “The mistake was made solely by my brokerage and benefited me in no way,” Rep. Dan Meuser told Dave in a characteristic statement.

Worth noting: “You are personally responsible for incomplete and inaccurate information contained in your [financial reports], regardless of who assisted in preparation,” House Ethics Committee guidelines for members state.

McIver’s appeal: If Jan. 6 rioters’ cases were dismissed, why can’t Rep. LaMonica McIver’s, her lawyers argue. The government “cannot pursue charges against her because she is a Democrat who conducts oversight of Executive Branch immigration policy, while dismissing charges brought under the same statute against those whose views they share and who engaged in conduct far more egregious,” her attorneys wrote the judge, NOTUS’ Oriana González reports.

The wealth tax drumbeat: “I’ll get another drum and start drumming even harder that we need to raise taxes on the wealthy in the state of New York now,” state Sen. Gustavo Rivera told NOTUS’ Shifra Dayak.

Other blue-state governors have embraced tax hikes on the rich to shore up budget shortfalls after Republicans cut Medicaid and SNAP. But New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has continued to argue her state should look for budget cuts instead. “Governor Hochul is focused on putting money back in New Yorkers’ pockets and fighting for a more affordable state,” a spox told Shifra.

NOT US

• Meet the Democrat Who Republicans Fear in Red-State America, by John McCormick for The Wall Street Journal
• Immigration enforcement shaped first week of Trump’s D.C. takeover, by Meagan Flynn, Jenny Gathright and Jonathan Edwards for The Washington Post
• How one dead squirrel upended New York wildlife enforcement, by Jon Campbell for WNYC
• Poilievre’s rural reboot, by Mickey Djuric for Politico

BE SOCIAL

Thank you for reading! If you like this edition of the NOTUS newsletter, please forward it to a friend. If this newsletter was shared with you, please subscribe — it’s free! Have a tip? Email us at tips@notus.org. And as always, we’d love to hear your thoughts on our newsletter at newsletters@notus.org.